Monterey, Reloaded

Leaving Anaheim, just before 5PM, we drove up I-5 to Lost Hills (NW of Bakersfield), then turned west on Hwy 46 to Paso Robles. From there, we picked up the 101 into Salinas and then Monterey. I think we got to the Blue Lagoon at about 2am.

With a quick unpack (C had packed one carry tote with each persons' clothing for the Sunday whale watch - only one bag needed!), the kids went into bed and we grownups took a quick shower before crashing.

The wake up call came at 7:30. One hour to get ready; departure at 8:30 to make the 9:00 boat departure on time. We were all tired, strung out and underslept. It was difficult, but we did it.

I think I'll let some of the photos do the talking on the whale watching trip. It was a one-of-a-kind Father's Day present, that's for sure. Pleasant enough; lots of marine mammal action all morning. The slow, rolling boat motion, coupled with the relative lack of sleep succeeded in rocking both children to sleep on multiple occasions. They woke up excitedly to see the animals, though.

Off the boat at 1pm, we bought a seafood lunch to fill our stomachs, then took off for the low-altitude flight 12-hour home. We headed up 101 and into San Jose. Then we veered inland on 680 and 880, avoiding the east bay area, through Fremont to Vacaville an onward north on the 505 until connecting with I-5 in Dunnigan (North of Sacramento)

At Dunnigan, I'd put 505 miles on the tank of gas I'd gotten in Lost Hills. Portland is less than 500 miles away from this spot, so I filled up one last time before home. With Subway sandwiches tucked away in the car with us, we ate when hungry and peed only once as we pushed on home, past Mt Shasta in the throes of a beautiful pink-tinged sunset, over the Siskiyous and up the Willamette valley. C slept most of this stretch, getting about 3 hours of car sleep. Finally, I gave the wheel to her about 20 miles south of Roseburg and she saw us all the way to the driveway.

It was good to be home.

As I walked in the door, after a week away, tired and draggy, I took quick look around. The place was clean and tidy - just how we'd left it. The rooms were all organized and finished-looking. I didn't see home improvement projects in my minds' eye when I looked around. Instead, I saw a finished-looking home with a lot of neat detail throughout. It felt much more finished than it felt in-process. This ability to see the place as 'done' is a tipping point for the rehabilitation wrap-up.